Caravan of Thieves by David Rich Page B

wrong doctor. His wife was head of the nursing staff. I was fired. She accused me of stealing drugs, which I didn’t do. Hubby did. So I was out of work. Waitressing. I let my friends know I needed something and McColl came up with this.”
    Before we left, I checked with Chui. “Two white guys, muscles, short hair, could be cops, could be military,” he said. I kissed him and left.
    The blue Ford was gone. Shannon walked to the passenger side of the jeep, ready to hop in, but I stopped next to her. If she was going to stay on, we had to have an arrangement. “I think you better go off on your own. As you said, once I know who you are, McColl will be done with you. He’s not going to like you hanging around.”
    “Take me with you. I can help you. I know McColl. I know his people. I know how they operate.” She tried to control her panic with a slow cadence, but her voice sounded brittle and breathless.
    “And in return?”
    “I get a cut. It’s only fair.”
    “How much is fair?”
    “Twenty percent.” I laughed. She said, “I don’t care how much. Whatever you say. I know his people. I can spot them. I know what resources he has access to and what he doesn’t. You need me to get away with this.”
    “I don’t mind having a partner. But we would have to start with some honesty. How much is he paying you?”
    “One percent.”
    I went around the jeep and got in. “I hope you’re a better medic than you are a liar.”
    She jumped in. “Wait.” She waited and I waited while she figured out a number I would believe. “Ten thousand. If I stayed with you the whole way.”
    “I’ll pay you fifty thousand. If I end up with the money,” I said.
    “Okay. Deal.”
    “And if I don’t end up with the money, you can still get your ten from McColl.”
    “That’s nasty,” she said, but she was trying to sound flirtatious. “You’re nasty.” She clutched her purse as if grabbing hold of the future she thought she had connived. I still had a few hours to kill.

    Shannon was in the shower. I sat next to the bed in padmasana, full lotus position, and brought up my vision. The clouds looked like rejected cotton polka dots, stuck to the blue, as permanent as stripes on a highway. The chimney, red brick on the right side of the house; the porch; the open windows; upstairs a window with no curtain, but I could not see anyone inside; the chirping of crickets; then a bang…how many times? I couldn’t tell if I had missed the first few. I realized it was Shannon, out of the shower and banging doors and drawers to let me know it.
    She made a little noise while adjusting the air conditioning and I knew the only way I would get any quiet was by opening my eyes. The show she put on was a good one. The lovely soft bulge of her breasts shimmered just above the towel, which was all she wore. She was tall enough, her legs were long enough, that when she bentforward to search through her bag, I was treated to a peek at her butt. She turned and smiled at me. “You back in the world?”
    “Yeah.”
    She sat on the edge of the bed, bringing along the fresh scent of soap and body oil that seemed like an oasis in the musty motel room. Her hair was pulled up, accentuating her neck and faint, downy hairs too short to be included. She said, “I’m going to call him, McColl, and tell him I’m still working you, tell him you think you’ve turned me, but I’m still with him. I want to do it in front of you so there’s no question…”
    She twisted around to face me and put one leg up on the bed. She had freckles on her chest. I remembered that there are days when I really like freckles. This was one of them. I said, “He knows where the jeep is. He’ll know I’m here. He can locate the call. Maybe it’s better not to do it, anyway.”
    “I’ll wait until you go. I just don’t want you to not trust me.”
    “Do you trust me?”
    She stared into my eyes, but her gaze fell. She couldn’t lie about it. She couldn’t